Lionsgate Exec Details Expanding Role Of The Hunger Games Adventures Facebook Game

John Gaudiosi
, ContributorI've been covering video games, Hollywood and technology for 20 yearsOpinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Director Gary Ross’ film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ bestselling The Hunger Games novel has already broken Hollywood box office records in its opening weekend ($152.5 million). Now Lionsgate is about to unleash an even deeper experience based on both the novel and the film with The Hunger Games Adventures Facebook game.

As part of the Hollywood studio’s “fan first” marketing approach, only fans of the film (through fan Websites) have been able to play the free-to-play social game over the past few weeks. On March 30, the beta for the Facebook game opens up to the general public. Once Facebook’s 800 million users have access to this mainstream-focused game, this franchise could break even more records.

David Hayes, vice president of digital marketing at Lionsgate, said Collins has worked closely with game developer Funtactix on this brand new extension of the universe she’s created. While the books flesh out the world in vivid detail and the movies take another slant on the material, the game goes beyond both of those experiences and delivers new quests, new characters and allows fans to create new avatars and explore all of the districts from the universe.

“This game is an opportunity for fans to experience this world beyond the books and the movie,” said Hayes. “The game plays an important role in allowing us to bridge the time period between the DVD and Blu-ray releases and the theatrical release of Catching Fire.”

Fans of the books and movie have long been speculating which States line up with the districts in the fiction. Panem is a post-Apocalyptic North America. And the official launch of the full Facebook game in the near future (not the beta launch) will reveal the official locations of each district on a North American map.

“There are so many amazing opportunities and plans for this game,” said Hayes. “A great example of how we can amplify the marketing through this game is the official map. This is something that fans have wanted to see for a year and a half. There are hundreds of fan maps that have been created, but there’s only one official map from Suzanne and this game will reveal that over time.”

Lionsgate has been connecting the film world with the game world already. A teaser trailer for the film debuted this week in the game. And March 30 marks the unveiling of an exclusive clip from the movie. Earlier this week, players were able to unlock an exclusive track, “Rue’s Song,” performed by Sting. Hayes said these types of exclusives aren’t hidden and are easily available for players to enjoy. More of these types of in-game rewards will be released on a regular basis.

In addition, the developer will release new quests and content on a weekly basis. And when the official game releases, additional Districts will be available for exploration. The current beta features District 12, home of Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence in the film). Players will work closely with Katniss, who appears as a stylized 2 ½-D version of Lawrence from the film. Other central characters from the film will also play roles in the Facebook game, including Gale Hawthorne (played by Liam Hemsworth in the film) and Peeta Mellark (played by Josh Hutcherson in the movie).

“What people will begin to see is an almost surreal ability for The Hunger Games Adventures to mirror the next film or next phase of the marketing campaign,” said Hayes. “This game is 100 percent not about letting people fight in The Hunger Games arena. It takes people beyond that and it’s really a testament to how rich this universe is. It’s a huge, sprawling social game experience.”

Fans of the film will also have another free game option on iOS devices. The Hunger Games: Girl on Fire for iPhone and iPad was developed by acclaimed mobile game developers Adam Saltsman, Mark Johns and Paul Veer. Hayes said this game’s narrative is a prologue to the book and has Katniss running through the forest trying to avoid deadly Tracker Jackers sent by the Capital.

Lionsgate is hitting two-for-two with its game offerings. The mobile game offers a cool retro sidescrolling action experience through District 12 that’s simple and fun to play. This contrasts nicely with the 2 ½-D adventure game experience of the Facebook game, which offers MMO-light gaming and the ability to interact with other fans.

Rather than trying to rush a console game out the door with the first film (three more movies are in the works), Lionsgate has focused on a Facebook game that will allow for continual updates and a mobile game that anyone can access – maybe even while waiting in line to catch the movie again.